Maybe In Another Life (But Not This One)
by KyliaQuilor
Summary: I've called Skyeward the Ship of Pain before. This time, we really get to see that pain. Hydra!Skye Role-Reversal AU. Skye and Ward have a standoff, with Skye ready to bring everything crashing down around her. This is Dark - there is no happy ending. Warning for Suicide.


stargazerdaisy on tumblr gave me the prompt of Skyeward + "What's wrong with a little chaos?" and then this happened. I'm not entirely sure where it comes from, but it was written. Don't blame Daisy for it.

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"What's wrong with a little chaos?" Skye asked, looking over at the man she'd once called her SO, the man she'd loved. With the past tense being the key word. "Fighting for order in the world didn't work. S.H.I.E.L.D. tried that. Hydra tried that and look how that turned out." Skye gestured with her free hand to the computer next to her. "Let's see how a little chaos works out. Every single dirty secret that Fury protected when he 'dumped' S.H.I.E.L.D.'s files. I can't believe anyone ever thought that was all of them." It had been so naive for Romanoff and Rogers to think that Fury would ever let S.H.I.E.L.D. be dismantled. He'd already prepared his backup by then. Including the carrier that had saved the day at Sokovia.

Of course, only Skye knew that Fury had two more ready to go. Two more Helicarriers. He had money in accounts no one knew existed.

"How many people are dead because of that last dump Skye? How many more are going to die? You're going to release the real Index. You're going to put every single powered person under a microscope and then onto an operating table. People like you!" Ward hadn't moved his gun from its position aimed at her chest.

"And it will spell death and doom for you and yours, Ward. Especially Coulson. I think that's a fair trade." Coulson deserved to die, for everything he'd done to her. She'd helped him. Given him information, on Hydra. And then he'd traded her to her psychotic father for information on the Obelisk. And then, then, he'd brought S.H.I.E.L.D. to afterlife, where her mother - who was alive too - was. And Hydra had followed him.

And how Jiaying, the mother she barely had known, was dead. For good. And Skye had watched it happen.

Coulson needed to pay. Ward needed to pay, for not believing her contrition when it had been real. For rejecting her attempts to make up for her sins. For being enthusiastic about releasing her to her father. For shooting her in the back in San Juan. At least he had the decency to avoid giving me another gutshot. That was about as much decency that Ward had.

"I think Coulson's suffering enough. Your Hydra friends killed May. Fitzsimmons are in critical condition. The agency is already starting to collapse around him. But if you release thouse files, thousands of people are going to die. Possibly tens of thousands before this ends."

"They aren't my friends. They were never my friends. My loyalty was only to Garrett. Onlyever to Garrett. I tried to make up for what I did to you Ward, in some small way, to at least start the process. I tried to do better, be better, but you decided that that wasn't going to happen. You decided that I was evil, rotten to the core. You and Coulson. Well, your wish is granted! I **am** evil now! You say thousands of people are going to die? Well, newsflash: I don't care! Not anymore!"

Skye didn't take her eye off of him as she reached a hand for the computer. "If you were going to kill me, you'd have done it in San Juan. Do either shoot me now, or sit back and enjoy the front row view of Coulson's entire world crashing down."

Ward lowered his gun, walking towards her. "That's really what this about then. Us."

"There is no us. There never was an us, Ward! Anything that could have been is long dead. I got that when you shot me." Of course, no matter how much she insisted that it was past tense…

She'd never love anyone the way the amount that she'd loved Grant Ward.

But it could never happen. She had to see this through.

"If you think that meant I stopped loving you, then you're wrong. I still love you Skye. That never changed. But you're right. Nothing can happen." Skye's throat clenched. Why was he telling her this? Why now? Why when just said there was nothing that could happen. "If you're going to bring S.H.I.E.L.D. down again, see to it that we all die, or end up in prison this time around, then start with me. I know you well enough to know that killing you know won't stop those files from being released." No, they wouldn't. Because of the deadman switch tied her heart monitor.

"So you're going to kill everyone, start with me. You owe me that much." Ward looked down, "Maybe in another life," he said softly, "we could have worked out. But not this one."

"No. Not this one." Skye agreed, her voice just as soft. "If you think I won't do it, you're wrong, Ward. If you really want me to kill you first, I will."

"Then do it. Put your money where your-" Ward was cut off. Not by the sound of a gunshot - the sound didn't stop him talking. The bullet right throgh his head did.

"I'm sorry, Grant." Skye said, unable to stop the tears. Not even wanting to. "I'm so sorry. But Coulson has to pay." Skye pressed the enter key on her laptop.

The files spread throughout the internet, landing in the servers of every major media outlet, ever national-level inteligence and law enforcement agency.

It was over. It was done.

Skye looked down at Ward's body, the hole in his head, the blood streaming from it.

"I'm so sorry Grant." She said again. Her heart felt like it was… caving inwards. Imploding. She couldn't breathe. She'd planned to watch it all happen. Be there when it all ended for Coulson.

But she couldn't. Maybe this is what Ward had been going for.

"Maybe in another life." She echoed Ward - Grant - and then, looking at the gun in her hand, she brought it up to her temple. "Maybe in another life. I love you, Grant Ward."

She pulled the trigger.

Everything ended.


End file.
